This is a good question – what’s the difference between ‘to catch up’ and ‘to meet up’..? Have a think about it, and then compare your ideas with the article below.

First up, here are a few example sentences:

Catch Up

I caught up with Jennifer at the weekend – she’s now a city lawyer!
It’s been really nice to see you and catch up again on everything..After the break we’ll catch up with Megyn Kelly about the Trump campaign.
Sorry, I’ve gotta run – maybe we can catch up tomorrow?
We caught up over a coffee.

Meet Up

Why don’t we meet up at 6 in front of the Hellary Hotel?
I’m hoping to meet up with Frank later.
Let’s meet up for a drink – when’s best for you?

Catch Up v. Meet Up

When you meet up with someone, it’s this idea of coming together to talk to each other and hang out. You’re organising a way to spend time together. It is usually in person but it can also be online.

Catching up with someone has a more specific meaning – you haven’t seen each other for a while and so you catch up with each other in order to find out the latest news.

Catching up is a bit like ‘checking in’ with someone who you are a bit out of touch with.

Meeting up is simply organising to come together in some way to talk.

Of course, when you say that you caught up with someone, you’re also saying that you met up with that person.

Another comment:

If you haven’t seen someone for a while and want to catch up with them, you might ask: “How have you been?”

If it’s someone who you see more regularly, you might ask: “How are you?”

Examples Of Catching Up

If you are on good terms with an ex partner but you haven’t seen each other since your break up, then you can meet and catch up with each other.

If you haven’t seen a good friend for a while, you can call each other and plan to catch up over a coffee.

Maybe you have a colleague who’s just come back from a holiday in Europe – so you tell them: “We’ve gotta catch up – how about a drink tonight?”

After You Catch Up

What if there is a reason you haven’t been in such close contact..?

Some people say: “Well it was nice catching up with you”, but they might be ok with keeping things more distant.

If you want to see your friend more and stay in touch, then one of you will want to organise another meet up again soon:

“Hey it’s been great catching up with you. Let’s do this again soon!”

“I’ll give you a call again soon – maybe we can check out that new exhibition by the beach.”

“I’m having a party at the Ash Bar in a fortnight – it’d be great to see you there!”

Finishing Up

After you’ve caught up with your friend or colleague, it might be nice to mention something memorable that your friend told you as you say goodbye:

I’m really glad it’s worked out with Simon | at work.I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t get the job, but I’m sure you’ll get the next one.Congrats again on your promotion!Let me know how it goes with the job | Gillian.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Get Into English. I’m David, an English teacher, traveller & language enthusiast from Melbourne Australia.
That’s me above in Bendigo, Victoria before Corona came!
I write articles on learning English especially for people wishing to live in or travel to Australia, and for those who are interested in business and all kinds of issues!

Older posts were written while I was in Europe, newer ones are from Australia.

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